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Handling of fish... koi,
pondfish... Mucus f' 10/21/07
Hi,
Too many times I see people that sell fish especially koi pick up and hold them
with their bare hands and then measure them. Correct me if I am wrong but
doesn't this remove the natural slime not to mention stress the fish out? I
figure netting the fish is enough trauma without going through all of the excess
torture. Am I wrong to not want to purchase from places that put their fish
through so much stress??
Thanks,
Doris
<Hello Doris. Indeed, most fish do not like to be handled, and yes, you can risk
damaging the scales and skin. Up to a point, the mucus will be re-secreted if
any is lost, and I'm not convinced that handling a fish is any better or worse
than netting a fish as far as losing mucus goes. It's probably six of one, half
a dozen of the other. Mucus has a low metabolic cost, so assuming a fish is in
basically good shape, loss of mucus isn't particularly serious (it's comparable
to mucus produced in our nose, mouth and throat, where mucus is constantly being
lost). What matters is minimising the time a fish is out of water. I have seen
aquarists handle large fish like koi in preference to using nets. Expert
fishkeepers at least may consider the relative softness and smoothness of their
hands kinder to the skin of their fish than the coarse netting used in large
nets. But that's probably a personal judgment call rather than anything
objectively tested. Anyway, to answer your specific question: a good fish
retailer won't be handling any fish out of water regularly. Indeed, the less
often, the better. If the fish are handled excessively and without care, it
should be apparent by missing scales, damaged fins, finrot, fungus, etc on the
fish in the store. On the other hand, koi are large fish with solid bodies and
heavy scales, and up to a point they tolerate handling well (their ancestors,
plain Carp, Cyprinus carpio, are incredibly durable fish). So while you're right
to be cautious, if the quality and health of the livestock on sale is good, the
fact the retailer handles the fish shouldn't be a reason to boycott the store in
and of itself. Cheers, Neale.>
Question re: article on Fish Body Slime 6/6/06
Hi,
<Hello there>
I read your article, "The Functions of Body Slimes of Fishes," and found it very
interesting (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fbodyslimfsh.htm). I
was particularly interested in your comments about fish "breathing" thru their
skin. I have been trying for some time to find more information on this
subject. I liked the fact that you gave references but was not able to figure
out from the titles which article or book might have contained the respiration
thru the skin information.
Can/will you please provide your source info?
My thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Spike Cover
<Mmm, this piece was penned (and not updated) more than thirty years ago... I
strongly encourage you to make a visit to a large college library that has a
biology dept. and ask a reference librarian to help you with a computer based
search of the subject area. Please see here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/litsrchart.htm
There are some current "Ichthyology" college course text books, and works on
"Fish Physiology" which likely have short sections on this issue as well... but
these may take some time to wade through. Bob Fenner>
RE: Fish slime article in Aquarium Fish magazine
Dear Mr. Fenner,
I am a freelance writer for Aquarium Fish magazine, among many others, and I am
writing an article on the function of fish's body slime. I need some quotes for
my article on this subject and I was wondering if you would be willing to assist
me. If you can answer some questions, I would greatly appreciate it.
Please contact me as soon as possible as I have a close deadline to meet.
Sincerely,
Erica Stoton
websites: www.realpetreviews.com and www.cph-cd.8m.com
<I will gladly help you. My "old" (1973) piece on this topic is placed here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/f'bodyslimes.htm
Please send what you will ASAP as am out of the country (and Net connection) for
a while soon. Bob Fenner>
Body Slime of Fishes
To whom this may concern,
I am currently a second year surgery resident atNYU and I am thinking
about some research possibilities. I have beena long time fish enthusiast and I
think that I just might be able to incorporate one of my hobbies into a viable
research project.
I have been searching the web for any informationthat I can find on the
slime coats of fish and have come up with very few matches. One reference I did
find was "The Function of Body Slimein Fishes" Fenner, Bob and Cindy DVM ,
Freshwater and Marine Aquarium,June 1986, pp.75-79. It would be greatly
appreciated if I could geta copy of this article or at least information on how
to obtain this article.
In addition if there are other scientific papers written on this subject
(especially composition of the slime) please let me know where I can find them.
Thank you,
Scott Laker, MD
<And though this piece is quite old, please let me know if you'd like to see the
original bibliography.
Bob Fenner>
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